How can Pakistan cricket improve like this?
03 March, 2025
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PHOTO: AFP
“The team’s performance has not been good, and I believe England now needs a new captain. I will step down from captaincy after the match against South Africa.”
When Jos Buttler made this statement during a press conference in Karachi, it surprised journalists because such a tradition does not exist in our country. After Pakistan’s poor performance in the T20 World Cup, there was a lot of talk but no real action, and people eventually forgot about it. Now, after 29 years, an ICC event was being held in Pakistan, yet our team got knocked out of the Champions Trophy within days.
Currently, the public is furious. Some former cricketers on TV are adding fuel to the fire just for ratings. No one has solutions, but everyone knows how to increase views on social media. It has been several days since Pakistan’s exit from the tournament, yet, as always, the PCB remains silent, waiting for public anger to subside. Neither top officials, the captain, the coach, nor the selectors have stepped forward to take responsibility for the team’s poor performance.
Even a fruit vendor or street hawker knows that the main reason for the defeat was poor team selection. Yet, the same selectors have been tasked with selecting the squad for the New Zealand tour. Reports suggest that a squad consisting entirely of young players will be chosen. This would be yet another blunder by our “Einstein” Aqib Javed.
Last year, when a full-strength Pakistan squad toured New Zealand, they lost the first four T20 matches before barely winning the final game. Sending new players to play on New Zealand’s pitches would be akin to ruining their careers. We couldn’t even defeat New Zealand’s second-string side at home last year, with the series ending in a 2-2 draw. More recently, they beat us in three consecutive ODIs on our home ground.
If the new players fail, they will be dropped, and the seniors will be brought back to perform against Bangladesh and reclaim their hero status. Instead, we should go with a full-strength squad for this tough tour while including a few young players who can learn from the experience.
If, however, the decision to field youngsters has already been made, then it should be announced that these players will remain in the team for at least six months, regardless of whether they win or lose. When Usman Khan is being kept in the squad due to a special deal, then doing the same for young players wouldn’t be wrong either.
The so-called “superstars” should not be selected against Bangladesh and should instead be given a break. I know people have short memories, so let me remind them what happened in the USA—where even a rookie host team defeated us. The main figure behind that disaster, Wahab Riaz, is now the mentor’s boss. He even went to Dubai to watch the matches—despite having no official role there. Behind the scenes, he is still running the show.
Reports suggest that Aaqib Javed will take over academy operations. Once again, a few players will be blamed while others will be protected. A patient suffering from a severe illness is not being given the right treatment—how can he recover by taking only paracetamol? Surgery is being performed by the same doctors who were negligent in the first place.
How can Pakistan cricket improve like this? Former cricketers are also not sincere—they only speak the truth until they get a job at PCB. Their job should be to correctly identify problems, but instead, they use their platform to settle personal scores with current players.
One “great” former fast bowler holds a grudge against Babar Azam simply because he didn’t sign a contract with an agent recommended by him. Watching Aaqib Javed on TV made us believe that he had solutions to all of Pakistan’s cricket problems and that there was no one better than him. However, when given power, he turned out to be worse than others.
Criticizing is the easiest thing in the world. If you point out flaws or mistakes but don’t offer solutions, then what’s the point? How many replacements have our former cricketers prepared for the national team?
TV channels mock Mohammad Rizwan’s English, yet they criticize Shan Masood for speaking English fluently. What do they even want? If someone says something positive, it won’t get views. The louder the noise, the higher the ratings.
PCB has hired several former stars on high salaries—what talent have they produced? Did Abdul Razzaq teach anyone how to hit sixes? The head of domestic cricket, Abdullah Khurram Niazi, went to Dubai to watch free matche—what improvements have happened under his tenure?
Chairman Mohsin Naqvi must get rid of Wahab Riaz, Abdullah Khurram Niazi, and others like them. Give them jobs elsewhere—who will stop the Interior Minister from doing so?
Mohsin Naqvi has built stadiums and stood firm against the Indian board, but the team’s losses are overshadowing his efforts. He is a powerful figure who genuinely wants to improve Pakistan cricket. Just as changes are being made in the national team in hopes of improvement, he should also try making changes in his own management team. Get rid of greedy and self-serving former cricketers and appoint sincere individuals instead—then watch how things improve.
People are now tired of hearing “Tum jeeto ya haro, humein tumse pyaar hai” (Win or lose, we still love you). If we want to prevent cricket from becoming like hockey, it’s time to take real action.
